Multi-wavelength laser sources are necessary for a functional photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy. The use of high-power diode lasers (HPDLs) has aroused great interest for their relatively low costs and small sizes if compared to solid state lasers. However, HPDLs are only available at few wavelengths and can deliver low optical energy (normally in the order of μJ), while diode laser bars (DLBs) offer more wavelengths in the market and can deliver more optical energy. We show the simulations of optical systems for beam coupling of single high-power DLBs operating at different wavelengths (i.e. 808 nm, 880 nm, 910 nm, 940 nm, and 980 nm) into 400-μm optical fibers. Then, in a separate design, the beams of the DLBs are combined in a compact system making use of dichroic mirrors and focusing lenses for beam coupling into a 400-μm optical fiber. The use of optical fibers with small core diameter (< 1 mm) is particularly suggestive for future photoacoustic endoscopy (PAE) applications that require interior examination of the body.

One of the main issues of the advances in optoacoustic (OA) applications is to reduce the high costs and the big sizes of solid state lasers. High-power diode lasers (HPDLs) have been demonstrated to be a valid alternative reducing enormously the expenses, besides other advantages such as smaller sizes and higher modulation frequencies. However, in some cases it is possible to furtherly reduce their costs. We present a cost-effective OA system based on the combination of several 905-nm HPDLs with direct coupling into a fiber bundle. These HPDLs have an internal pulse driver, based on an n-channel Mosfet and two charging capacitors, which needs an external Mosfet driver circuit and a voltage supply in order to improve the optical pulse shape and energy. We compare the performances and the prices of this OA system with another similar HPDL-based OA system built with commercial elements. Results indicate good OA signal generation (~15.6 mVpp) with pulse energy of 12.3 μJ and, especially, a cost reduction by a factor of ~15 if compared to the other HPDL-based system.

In the last few decades, high power diode lasers (HPDL) have been introduced as alternative laser sources for optoacoustic imaging (OAI), due to their high repetition rates (a few kHz) for fast OA image acquisition, lower cost and size if compared to solid state lasers. Nevertheless, their drawbacks consist in a low energy per pulse (μJ) and a relatively highly divergent beam that needs collimation optics. At this purpose, the employment of diode laser stacks significantly increases the energy per pulse up to several mJ. The diode laser stacks imply a big challenge if compared to single emitters for several reasons. Firstly, they need very demanding electronic requirements, as forward voltages and currents of several tens of volts and hundreds of amperes, respectively. Secondly, their highly divergent beam profile requires precise collimation by means of fast axis and slow axis collimation. In this work, we show an 808-nm diode laser stack driven with 17 V and ~ 200 A by a low-cost current driver for emitting pulses of 1 mJ at 1 kHz. Particular emphasis will be attributed to the design of the high current pulses driver and the optics employed to collimate and after focus the beam in a spot. The light spot will be applied to an ink inclusion hosted in turbid phantom. We demonstrate that our system is able to generate appreciable OA signals in turbid phantoms. This aspect represents a novelty in OAI systems because it is demonstrated that HPDL sources can efficiently replace solid-state lasers.

Optoacoustic (OA) effect refers to the generation of the acoustic waves due to absorption of light energy in a biological tissue. The incident laser pulse is absorbed by the tissue, resulting in the generation of ultrasound that is typically detected by a piezoelectric detector. Compared to other techniques, the advantage of OA imaging (OAI) technique consists in combining the high resolution of ultrasound technique with the high contrast of optical imaging. Generally, Nd:YAG and OPO systems are used for the generation of OA waves but their use in clinical environment is limited for many aspects. On the other hand, high-power diode lasers (HPDLs) emerge as potential alternative. However, the power of HPDLs is still relatively low compared to solid-state lasers. We show a side-by-side combination of several HPDLs in an optical fiber bundle to increase the amount of power for OA applications. Initially, we combine the output optical power of several HPDLs at 905 nm using two 7 to 1 round optical fiber bundles featuring a 675 μm and 1.2 mm bundle aperture. In a second step, we couple the output light of these fiber bundles to a 600 μm core diameter endoscopic fiber, reporting the corresponding coupling efficiencies. The fiber bundles with reasonable small diameter are likely to be used for providing sufficient light energy to potential OA endoscopy (OAE) applications.

This paper, originally published on 27 April 2016, was replaced with a corrected/revised version on 8 June 2016. If you downloaded the original PDF but are unable to access the revision, please contact SPIE Digital Library Customer Service for assistance.

The purpose of wavelength-beam combining (WBC) is to improve the output power of a multi-wavelength laser system while maintaining the quality of the combined beam. This technique has been primarily proposed for industrial applications, such as metal cutting and soldering, which require optical peak power between kilowatts and megawatts. In order to replace the bulkier solid-state lasers, we propose to use the WBC technique for photoacoustic (PA) applications, where a multi-wavelength focused beam with optical peak power between hundreds of watts up to several kilowatts is necessary to penetrate deeply into biological tissues. In this work we present an analytical study about the coupling of light beams emitted by diode laser bars at 808 nm, 880 nm, 910 nm, 940 nm, and 980 nm into a < 600-μm core-diameter optical fiber for PA endoscopy. In order to achieve an efficient coupling it is necessary to collimate the beams in both fast and slow axes by means of cylindrical lenses and to use partial reflection mirrors at 45° tilt. We show an example of beam collimation using cylindrical lenses in both fast and slow axes. In a real PA scenario, the resulting beam should have a sufficient peak power to generate significant PA signals from a turbid tissue>.

During the last two decades, optoacoustic imaging has been developed as a novel biomedical imaging technique based on the generation of ultrasound waves by means of laser light. In this work, we investigate the optoacoustic response from graphene-based solutions by using a compact and cost-effective system based on an assembly of several 905-nm pulsed high-power diode lasers coupled to a bundle of 200-μm diameter- core optical fibers. The coupled light is conveyed into a lens system and focused on an absorber consisting of graphene-based nanomaterials (graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, and reduced graphene-oxide/gold-nanoparticle hybrid, respectively) diluted in ethanol and hosted in slightly scattering optical phantoms. The high absorption of these graphene-based solutions suggests their potential future use in optoacoustic applications as contrast agents.

Optoacoustic imaging (OAI) is a hybrid biomedical imaging modality based on the generation and detection of ultrasound by illuminating the target tissue by laser light. Typically, laser light in visible or near infrared spectrum is used as an excitation source. OAI is based on the implementation of image reconstruction algorithms using the spatial distribution of optical absorption in tissues. In this work, we apply a time-domain back-projection (BP) reconstruction algorithm and a wavelet filtering for point and line detection, respectively. A comparative study between point detection and integrated line detection has been carried out by evaluating their effects on the image reconstructed. Our results demonstrate that the back-projection algorithm proposed is efficient for reconstructing high-resolution images of absorbing spheres embedded in a non-absorbing medium when it is combined with the wavelet filtering.

Optoacoustic (OA) imaging is a rising biomedical technique that has attracted much interest over the last 15 years. This technique permits to visualize the internal soft tissues in depth by using short laser pulses, able to generate ultrasonic signals in a large frequency range. It combines the high contrast of optical imaging with the high resolution of ultrasound systems. The OA signals detected from the whole surface of the body serve to reconstruct in detail the image of the internal tissues, where the absorbed optical energy distribution outlines the regions of interest. In fact, the use of contrast agents could improve the detection of growing anomalies in soft tissues, such as carcinomas. This work proposes the use of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) as a potential nontoxic biodegradable contrast agent applicable in OA to reveal the presence of malignant in-depth tissues in near infrared (NIR) wavelength range (0.75–1.4 μm), where the biological tissues are fairly transparent to optical radiation. A dual-wavelength (870 and 905 nm) OA system is presented, based on arrays of high power diode lasers (HPDLs) that generate ultrasound signals from a DWCNT solution embedded within a biological phantom. The OA signals generated by DWCNTs are compared with those obtained using black ink, considered to be a very good absorber at these wavelengths. The experiments prove that DWCNTs are a potential contrast agent for optoacoustic spectroscopy (OAS).

During the last decade, Optoacoustic Imaging (OAI), or Optoacoustic Tomography (OAT), has evolved as a novel imaging technique based on the generation of ultrasound waves with laser light. OAI may become a valid alternative to techniques currently used for the detection of diseases at their early stages. It has been shown that OAI combines the high contrast of optical imaging techniques with high spatial resolution of ultrasound systems in deep tissues. In this way, the use of nontoxic biodegradable contrast agents that mark the presence of diseases in near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths range (0.75–1.4 um) has been considered. The presence of carcinomas and harmful microorganisms can be revealed by means of the fluorescence effect exhibited by biopolymer nanoparticles. A different approach is to use carbon nanotubes (CNTs) which are a contrast agent in NIR range due to their absorption characteristics in the range between 800 to 1200 nm. We report a multi-wavelength (870 and 905 nm) laser diode–based optoacoustic (OA) system generating ultrasound signals from a double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) solution arranged inside a tissue-like phantom, mimicking the scattering of a biological soft tissue. Optoacoustic signals obtained with DWCNTs inclusions within a tissue-like phantom are compared with the case of ink-filled inclusions, with the aim to assess their absorption. These measurements are done at both 870 and 905 nm, by using high power laser diodes as light sources. The results show that the absorption is relatively high when the inclusion is filled with ink and appreciable with DWCNTs.

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